Atlas

Atlas (referred to as Blue by GLaDOS), is P-body's short and stout companion, and is one of two playable android Test Subjects built by GLaDOS for her Cooperative Testing Initiative, which was devised to phase out human testing.

Gameplay-wise, Atlas is played by the host of the Co-op session; the player that sends an invitation.

Contents

Biography

Atlas is a blue eyed Core with a basic design as a typical rounded Core, and is portrayed to have somewhat more masculinity in its programming than in P-body. GLaDOS had created the Cooperative Testing Initiative after her awakening in Portal 2, as a means of replacing Chell as her only Test Subject. Along with P-body, the two bots are pitted against a series of tests built by GLaDOS herself, utilizing the many different mechanics previously encountered by Chell from the game's single-player campaign.

It was later revealed by GLaDOS that Atlas and P-body's Cores are programmed specifically to do nothing more but tests.

During the final phases of testing, GLaDOS reveals that, while the Cooperative Testing Initiative has its uses, she needs human testing for science, not robots. GLaDOS reveals that there are humans locked away, deep within the ancient Aperture facilities. There the bots will be tasked with navigating the old test chambers and unlock the massive vault containing the humans, seemingly kept in place by some form of cryogenic storage. By doing this, they 'save science.' However, almost immediately after the robots unlock the room containing the test subjects, they are destroyed. They are eventually rebuilt and, during the credits, Atlas sits at a computer desk and watches P-body playing on a conveyor belt.

Trivia

In the pre-release video "Bot Trust", the prototype Atlas in the "Unilateral Force-Induced Isokinetic Breakfast Trials" wields a frying pan similiar to the ones found in Left 4 Dead 2, the frying pan is also featured in Team Fortress 2 as an all-class melee weapon, and in other Valve games (but as unusable physics props).

In Portal 2 and it's promotional videos, Atlas' name can be seen written both as "Atlas" and "ATLAS", showing inconsistencies from Valve as far as the bot's name is concerned.

In the early days of Portal 2, the player used to play as a different character, named Mel. She was later replaced by Atlas, with Chell being replaced by P-Body.